What Do You Know About The Statue on Kennebunkport’s River Green?

This statue graces Kennebunkport's River Geen which is located in front of the Captain Lord Mansion. Frank Handlen, the artist and sculptor of this magnificent bronze is a personal friend of ours. There is quite a story concerning the creation of this statue. Frank had actually begun crafting the clay model of "Our Fore bearers of the Coast" in another barn which did not have ceilings high enough for the full model. We met him at a local artist's function at Mast Cove Gallery where he shared his plans to create the statue and the difficulty he was facing finding adequate space for the full size clay model. We offered the Carriage House at the Captain Lord Mansion for his use. In exchange, he painted a mural of the Kennebunk River, circa 1880, which is installed in our guest room, "Ship Harvest". Frank worked all one winter in our unheated barn making the clay model. The barn ceiling was sufficiently high enough to allow Frank to create the model in one piece. Fortunately, in one of Maine's coldest winters on record, he was able to section off with plastic sheeting a small area which he heated with a kerosene bullet heater. Also, he stuffed newspaper into oversize rubber knee-boots to keep his feet warm. After making the clay model, Frank had the statue cast in bronze by the "lost wax method" at a Maine Foundry. We are proud of the part we played to help Frank achieve his dream of creating this statue. When you visit the Captain Lord Mansion, please take some time to visit the imposing bronze statue of a fisherman and his wife casting their eyes seaward. Your innkeeper, Rick Litchfield